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As America continues the shift to more of a service economy, manufacturing companies have dealt with numerous challenges, and among the most consistent is labor shortages. This problem will only worsen as a key generation of workers retires. In response, many manufacturers are capturing and digitizing knowledge of experienced workers before they walk out the door.

If you’re drowning in a sea of paper-based SOPs and work instructions, you’re not alone.

Today, employees spend an inordinate amount of time searching for information to do their jobs. Even if they find it, chances are good the information is outdated or doesn’t apply to a specific task. Now’s a good time to shred your old paper habits and go completely

digital. Here's how. 

Refrigerated & frozen foods are more readily available than ever. Their popularity has grown as consumers have become busier and look for more quick, convenient meals and snacks. Whether it's pre-chopped vegetables or ready-made meals, your customers are well accustomed to frozen and fresh foods being a staple part of their diets. As food demand continues to rise with population growth, the cold food manufacturing market will increase by $262.3 million according to Cold Planers Market Report. 

The beverage industry is undergoing significant changes as it strives to keep up with evolving consumer demands. As millennials become the largest generation cohort of the population, they have significantly impacted the trends of the beverage industry. Beverage manufacturers must understand millennials’ values, behaviors, and preferences to get ahead of their competition.

In this series of blog posts, we are exploring the 4 Cs to Getting Operations Leaders Excited About Training with Bob Rysavy, HR Training Manager at Hearthside Food Solutions, and Kristin Kastrup, Senior Consultant, Training and Human Resource Optimization.

“Training culture” is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but what does a good training culture actually look like? And what can you do to build one, at your company? A few starting points from Rvsavy and Kastrup:

In this series of blog posts, we are exploring the subject matter from the webinar "The Four Cs to Get Your Operations Leaders Excited About Training" with Bob Rysavy, HR Training Manager at Hearthside Food Solutions, and Kristin Kastrup, Senior Consultant, Training and Human Resource Optimization. Read Part 1 and Part 2.

It can be challenging to get your operations leaders to commit to staying on track with an ongoing training course. In this part of our conversation, Kastrup and Rysavy expanded upon the second “C” of the four core elements — commitment — and shared the best approach for dividing up responsibilities and ownership in a healthy training process:

Operations leaders are constantly juggling a demanding number of production goals, from reaching daily quotas to maximizing the utilization of equipment. With all of their critical responsibilities, it’s easy to see how staying on track with an ongoing training plan can fall by the wayside!

As an EHS consultant, I’m used to fielding questions on OSHA requirements, but since the beginning of the pandemic the amount has increased exponentially. With that in mind, I’m offering guidance on implementing workplace health and safety hazard processes as it relates to COVID-19.  

The food processing and manufacturing world is currently in an especially precarious position in this pandemic, as workers often interact in close quarters, and social distancing isn’t always possible. And staying home to flatten the curve (which works!) isn’t always feasible since food, and its production, is essential.

At this point in time, we have enough data to support that the coronavirus is not transmitted via food. It’s an upper respiratory infection — in order to become infected, it has to get transmitted from either an infected individual through microdroplets, or from touching a dirty surface, then transferring the virus by touching your mouth, eyes, or nose.

During the second installment of our Covid Communications webinar series, Intertek Alchemy joined forces with Julie Keich and Lynn Costanza of Campbell’s Snacks to highlight how one company in the food manufacturing and processing industry is navigating the “new normal”.  

Last week during the second of our Covid Communictions webinar series, we asked attendees to share practical procedures and best practices they were carrying out in their facilities to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Not surprisingly, the tips that followed were thoughtful, helpful, and showcased the forward-thinking required of all industry leaders during this unprecedented pandemic crisis:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and states have shut down their restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Despite all of this, consumer demand for medical supplies and food continues to increase and truck drivers are crucial for maintaining the supply chain and keeping the economy going. 

There are a handful of common struggles manufacturers face, especially those companies still growing including the retiring workforce, recruiting millennials, employee engagement, and providing impactful training. However, within these challenges lie solutions to make things more manageable and productive as they look to the future.

Let’s take a closer look:

1. Managing the Skills Gap

There is a ton of research on millennials in the workforce just hovering by our fingertips, ready for us to hit “enter” and display almost innumerable stats, facts, and ideologies about this generation.